Black Women/White Men

About the Book

Using archival material and other existing sources, this book graphically documents the sexual exploitation of female slaves in holding pens on the West Coast of Africa, on slave ships during the Trans-Atlantic crossing, and on plantations in the Danish West Indies, now known as the United States Virgin Islands. In this book, Donoghue successfully demonstrates how under the Danish Slave Codes it was impossible to rape a slave. He notes that if a female slave died during her resistance to the sexual advances of any master, her owner was entitled to compensation by law. The author further notes that the diminishing slave population near the end of the eighteenth century triggered the development of a comprehensive plan for the breeding of slaves in the Danish West Indian colony. The blueprints included the granting of generous loans to planters to import female slaves of childbearing age. The book also provides compelling evidence that many females resisted exploitation by resorting to abortion, infanticide, poisoning, marronage and suicide.` “The theme is somewhat current, but Dr. Donoghue is on relatively new ground in his extensive exploration of the exploitation of slave women” Sir Howard Fergus, University of the West Indies “Donoghue breaks new ground with this deeply analytical and illuminating exploration of the exploitation of black women,” The Daily Observer. “Donoghue shows the reader the true depths of the sexual exploitation of female slaves,” The Avis. The Book received the highest rating of five stars by reader-reviewers of Blackwell’s Online Bookshop. Eddie Donoghue was born on the small island of Montserrat in the Caribbean and lived for almost twenty years in Sweden. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and is currently a Researcher for the Legislature in the United States Virgin Islands.

About the Author

Dr. Eddie Donoghue, who was born in the small Caribbean island of Montserrat, began his higher education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in January 1974.  He obtained his Ph.D. in Sociology from that institution on December 20, 1982.  His dissertation, which was published as is the custom in Sweden, is titled: The Illusion of the Absolute: A Critical Study of the Marxian Concept of Alienation and its Hegelian Origin.  He also studied national economics at the Economic Institute, University of Gothenburg.

Dr. Eddie Donoghue is a recognized scholar. In June 2002, upon invitation, Donoghue’s scholarly writings were placed in a collection at the main library, Mona Campus, University of the West Indies, Jamaica.   He has published several papers, including: The Socio-psychological Correlates of Teen Pregnancy in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and presented The Montserrat Masquerade: Cultural Preservation in the Modern World, to ACCA members, in April 2001.  Dr. Donoghue has also published hundreds of articles on Slavery, Teen pregnancy, the Feminization of Poverty and the Black Family.

On March 11, 2003, Eddie delivered the annual lecture at the University of the West Indies, Montserrat Campus and on March 15, 2003 served as the Grand Marshall for St. Croix’s St. Patrick Day Parade and a year later in a similar position for the St. Thomas St. Patrick Day Parade.

In. 2001, Dr. Donoghue produced his play “Jankombum.”  On October 12, 2002, by invitation, he joined a group of scholars and writers at the Book Festival in Washington organized by the Library Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.  Dr. Donoghue’s current play “Queen Coziah” has received rave reviews. Moreover, the author has written and produced eight documentaries for WTJX, Channel 12 TV.

In 1996, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the Montserrat Medal of Honor on the author for his relief work on behalf of the island of Montserrat after Hurricane Marilyn.